Display for vacuum cleaner

ABSTRACT

A vacuum appliance  10  with a display  24  to indicate status information relating to the vacuum or components thereof. For example, the display  24  may indicate the status of the vacuum appliance&#39;s  10  motor  12 , airflow  16  and/or resulting suction, brush  20 , container  22 , or any combination thereof.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The inventions disclosed and taught herein relate generally to vacuum cleaners; and more specifically related to status displays for vacuum cleaners.

2. Description of the Related Art

U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,106 discloses “upright vacuum cleaners which have a detachable hand-held vacuum hose as an ascending line. The hand-held vacuum hose is coupled to a hand-held vacuum tube which serves as an extension. The hand-held vacuum tube is thereby designed as a storage housing for the telescoping hand-held vacuum hose.”

U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,539 discloses a “vacuum cleaner comprises a housing having a floor-engaging nozzle fluidly interconnected with a filter bag in a closed filter bag chamber in the housing through a suction passageway, an exhaust vent in the filter bag chamber to exhaust filtered air exiting from the filter bag chamber and a vacuum motor provided in the housing to draw air from the floor-engaging nozzle to the filter bag. An exhaust filter is mounted in the exhaust vent. A sensor in the filter bag chamber detects a condition representative of the flow of air through the exhaust filter element and an exhaust filter indicator interconnected with the sensor provides a signal to a user when the condition reaches a predetermined level to indicate a clogged condition of the exhaust filter. A sensor and indicator can also be provided for the filter bag so that independent signals can be generated relating to the clogged condition of one or both of the filter bag and exhaust filter.”

U.S. Pat. No. 7,309,365 discloses a “vacuum cleaner including an electric blower for generating suction air, a collecting unit for collecting dust contained in the suction air, a dust removing unit for removing dust adhered to the collecting unit, and a dust removing stop unit for stopping an operation of the dust removing unit. The dust removing stop unit stops the operation of the dust removing unit in response to a user's selection or an operation mode of the vacuum cleaner, thereby saving a power consumption of the dust removing unit.”

The inventions disclosed and taught herein are directed to vacuum cleaners; and more specifically related to status displays for vacuum cleaners.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objects described above and other advantages and features of the invention are incorporated in the application as set forth herein, and the associated appendices and drawings, related to status displays for vacuum cleaners.

In accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure, a vacuum appliance is disclosed. The vacuum appliance, or simply vacuum, typically includes an internal motor and an impeller coupled to the motor. The impeller is typically designed, or otherwise configured, to induce airflow through the vacuum appliance when driven by the motor. This induced airflow creates suction at a nozzle of the vacuum appliance in order to entrain dirt, liquid, or other debris in the airflow. Often, vacuum appliances often have one or more brushes configured to agitate and/or pick up the debris, thereby assisting the suction in entraining the debris in the airflow. The debris is typically deposited in some sort of a container. For example, upright vacuums often use a bag that acts as a filter to allow the airflow to pass there through, while stopping the debris, thereby collecting the debris in the bag. Alternatively, wet/dry vacuums typically use a drum with a relatively large volume. In this case, the airflow is decelerated upon entering the drum, thereby depositing the debris within the drum. Of course, wet/dry vacuums may also, or alternatively use filters and/or screens to stop the debris from exiting the drum.

In any case, the vacuum of the present invention preferably includes a display designed or otherwise configured to indicate status information relating to the vacuum or components thereof. For example, the display may indicate the status of the motor, the suction, the brush, the container, or any combination thereof.

In the case of an upright vacuum, the display may be mounted to a floor-engaging power head of the vacuum, or otherwise positioned in a normal field of view of a user. In the case of a wet/dry vacuum, or canister vacuum, the display may be mounted to a cover or the power head, which often contains the motor and impeller assembly.

In one embodiment, the display comprises a plurality of multi-colored lights which may be positioned in a round pattern. In this case, the lights are preferably manufactured, designed, and/or otherwise configured to selectively illuminate one or more colors, such as red and green. The lights may be configured to selectively flash independently, in unison, and/or sequentially. For example, sequential flashing may be utilized such that the display appears to infer rotation about the round pattern.

More specifically, the display may utilize green sequential flashing lights to indicate the suction and brush are normal. The display may utilize red sequential flashing lights to indicate a problem with the container and the brush is normal. The display may utilize red lights flashing in unison to indicate a problem with the brush. Alternatively, or additionally, the display may utilize red lights flashing in unison to indicate a problem with the motor. In other embodiments, the display may utilize green lights flashing in unison to indicate a problem with the brush and red lights flashing in unison to indicate a problem with the motor, or vice versa.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The following figures form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these figures in combination with the detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of one embodiment of the vacuum appliance in accordance with certain aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 2A illustrates a display of one embodiment of the vacuum appliance in accordance with certain aspects of the present invention, with lights thereof not illuminated.

FIG. 2B illustrates a display of one embodiment of the vacuum appliance in accordance with certain aspects of the present invention, with lights thereof illuminated.

FIG. 3A illustrates a display of one embodiment of the vacuum appliance in accordance with certain aspects of the present invention, with select lights thereof illuminated.

FIG. 3B illustrates a display of one embodiment of the vacuum appliance in accordance with certain aspects of the present invention, with select lights thereof illuminated.

FIG. 3C illustrates a display of one embodiment of the vacuum appliance in accordance with certain aspects of the present invention, with select lights thereof illuminated.

FIG. 3D illustrates a display of one embodiment of the vacuum appliance in accordance with certain aspects of the present invention, with select lights thereof illuminated.

FIG. 4 illustrates a top perspective view of one embodiment of the vacuum appliance in accordance with certain aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a partially exploded top perspective view of one embodiment of the vacuum appliance in accordance with certain aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a top perspective view of one embodiment of the vacuum appliance in accordance with certain aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a close-up underside view of a portion of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 illustrates a close-up view of a portion of FIG. 5.

While the inventions disclosed herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, only a few specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. The figures and detailed descriptions of these specific embodiments are not intended to limit the breadth or scope of the inventive concepts or the appended claims in any manner. Rather, the figures and detailed written descriptions are provided to illustrate the inventive concepts to a person of ordinary skill in the art and to enable such person to make and use the inventive concepts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The Figures described above and the written description of specific structures and functions below are not presented to limit the scope of what Applicants have invented or the scope of the appended claims. Rather, the Figures and written description are provided to teach any person skilled in the art to make and use the inventions for which patent protection is sought. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that not all features of a commercial embodiment of the inventions are described or shown for the sake of clarity and understanding. Persons of skill in this art will also appreciate that the development of an actual commercial embodiment incorporating aspects of the present inventions will require numerous implementation-specific decisions to achieve the developer's ultimate goal for the commercial embodiment. Such implementation-specific decisions may include, and likely are not limited to, compliance with system-related, business-related, government-related and other constraints, which may vary by specific implementation, location and from time to time. While a developer's efforts might be complex and time-consuming in an absolute sense, such efforts would be, nevertheless, a routine undertaking for those of skill in this art having benefit of this disclosure. It must be understood that the inventions disclosed and taught herein are susceptible to numerous and various modifications and alternative forms. Lastly, the use of a singular term, such as, but not limited to, “a,” is not intended as limiting of the number of items. Also, the use of relational terms, such as, but not limited to, “top,” “bottom,” “left,” “right,” “upper,” “lower,” “down,” “up,” “side,” and the like are used in the written description for clarity in specific reference to the Figures and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention or the appended claims.

Applicants have created a vacuum appliance that preferably includes a status display. Turning now to the figures, and in particular FIG. 1, the vacuum appliance, or simply vacuum, 10 of the present invention includes an internal motor 12 and an impeller 14 coupled to the motor. The impeller is typically designed, or otherwise configured, to induce airflow 16 through the vacuum appliance 10 when driven by the motor. This induced airflow 16 creates suction at a nozzle 18 of the vacuum appliance 10 in order to entrain dirt, liquid, or other debris in the airflow 16. Often, vacuum appliances 10 often have one or more brushes 20 configured to agitate and/or pick up the debris, thereby assisting the suction in entraining the debris in the airflow 16. The debris is typically deposited in some sort of a container 22, such as a bag or drum. For example, upright vacuums often use a bag that acts as a filter to allow the airflow to pass there through, while stopping the debris, thereby collecting the debris in the bag. Alternatively, wet/dry vacuums typically use a drum with a relatively large volume. In this case, the airflow is decelerated upon entering the drum, thereby depositing the debris within the drum. Of course, wet/dry vacuums may also, or alternatively use filters and/or screens to stop the debris from exiting the drum.

In any case, the vacuum 10 of the present invention preferably includes a display 24 designed or otherwise configured to indicate status information relating to the vacuum 10 or components thereof. For example, the display 24 may indicate the status of the motor 12, the airflow 16 and/or resulting suction, the brush 20, the container 22, or any combination thereof.

In one embodiment, the display 24 comprises a plurality of multi-colored lights 26 which may be positioned in a round pattern, as shown. In this case, the lights 26 are preferably manufactured, designed, and/or otherwise configured to selectively illuminate one or more colors, such as red and green. The lights 26 may be configured to selectively flash independently, in unison, and/or sequentially.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the lights 26 of the display 24 may be flashed on and off in unison. In this case, the lights 26 may be illuminated in all the same color, such as red or green. Alternatively, the lights 26 may be illuminated in different colors, such as by having some lights illuminated green, some illuminated red, and some illuminated white, for example.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 3A-3D, sequential flashing may be utilized such that the display 24 appears to infer rotation about the round pattern. In this case, the lights 26 may be illuminated in all the same color, such as red or green. Alternatively, the lights 26 may be illuminated in different colors, such as by having some lights illuminated green, some illuminated red, and some illuminated white, for example. Even with sequential flashing, select ones of the lights 26 may be illuminated simultaneously, such as opposing lights, as shown. Alternatively, only one light 26 may be illuminated at a time.

In any case, the manner in which the lights 26 are illuminated may be used to indicate status information relating to the vacuum 10 or components thereof. For example, the display 24 may utilize green sequential flashing lights 26 to indicate the airflow 16 and/or resulting suction and brush 20 are normal. The display 24 may utilize red sequential flashing lights 26 to indicate a problem with the container 22 and the brush 20 is normal. The display 24 may utilize red lights 26 flashing in unison to indicate a problem with the brush 20 and/or the motor 12. In other embodiments, the display 24 may utilize green lights 26 flashing in unison to indicate a problem with the brush 20 and/or red lights 26 flashing in unison to indicate a problem with the motor 12, or vice versa.

In the case of an upright vacuum, such as that shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the display 24 may be mounted to a floor-engaging power head 28 of the vacuum 10, or otherwise positioned in a normal field of view of a user. In the case of a wet/dry vacuum, such as that shown in FIG. 6, or canister vacuum, the display 24 may be mounted to a cover or the power head 30, which often contains the motor 12 and impeller 14 assembly.

Referring primarily to FIG. 5, the floor-engaging power head 28 of the vacuum 10 may include a cover 32 with one or more holes 34 through which the lights 26 are viewed. The holes 34 may be open or covered with one or more lens to focus or diffuse the light emanating from the lights 26. Referring also to FIG. 7, the vacuum 10 may also include ribs, walls, or other structure 36, such as those shown on an underside of the cover 32, to prevent light emitted by one light 26 from bleeding over to the hole 34 or space set aside for an adjacent or other light 26.

As shown in FIG. 8, the lights 26 of the display 24 may be mounted in a controller board 38, or other supporting structure, which may in turn be mounted on the floor-engaging power head 28 of the vacuum 10, or otherwise positioned in a normal field of view of a user.

As shown in FIG. 1, the display 24, a controller, or controller board 38 may monitor the vacuum 10 through direct connections to the components, and/or may be connected to sensors monitoring the components of the vacuum 10. For example, power calculations, speed sensors, and/or temperature sensors may be used to monitor the status of the motor 12, from which the status information related to the motor 12 is derived to be displayed through the display 24. Vacuum sensors, airflow sensors, or other flow sensors may be used to monitor the status of the airflow 16 and/or resulting suction, from which the status information related to the airflow 16 and/or resulting suction is derived to be displayed through the display 24. Speed sensors and/or torque sensors may be used to monitor the status of the brush 20, from which the status information related to the brush 20 is derived to be displayed through the display 24. Weight sensors, level sensors, and/or conductivity sensors may be used to monitor the status of the container 22, from which the status information related to the container 22 is derived to be displayed through the display 24.

Other and further embodiments utilizing one or more aspects of the inventions described above can be devised without departing from the spirit of Applicant's invention. For example, while the vacuum applicant has been described as an upright vacuum, the present invention may be used with other forms, such as canister, backpack, and wet/dry vacuums. Further, the various methods and embodiments of the methods of manufacture and assembly of the system, as well as location specifications, can be included in combination with each other to produce variations of the disclosed methods and embodiments. Discussion of singular elements can include plural elements and vice-versa.

The order of steps can occur in a variety of sequences unless otherwise specifically limited. The various steps described herein can be combined with other steps, interlineated with the stated steps, and/or split into multiple steps. Similarly, elements have been described functionally and can be embodied as separate components or can be combined into components having multiple functions.

The inventions have been described in the context of preferred and other embodiments and not every embodiment of the invention has been described. Obvious modifications and alterations to the described embodiments are available to those of ordinary skill in the art. The disclosed and undisclosed embodiments are not intended to limit or restrict the scope or applicability of the invention conceived of by the Applicants, but rather, in conformity with the patent laws, Applicants intend to fully protect all such modifications and improvements that come within the scope or range of equivalent of the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A vacuum appliance comprising: a motor within the vacuum appliance; an impeller coupled to the motor, the impeller configured to induce airflow through the vacuum appliance when driven by the motor, thereby creating suction at a nozzle of the vacuum appliance to entrain debris in the airflow; a container configured to contain the debris entrained in the airflow; and a display configured to indicate status information relating to the motor, the suction, and the container.
 2. The vacuum appliance of claim 1, wherein the vacuum appliance is a wet/dry vacuum with the container comprising a drum, the motor and impeller contained in a power head attached to the drum, and the display mounted to the power head.
 3. The vacuum appliance of claim 1, wherein the vacuum appliance is a wet/dry vacuum with the container comprising a drum with a cover and the display mounted to the cover.
 4. The vacuum appliance of claim 1, the display comprising a plurality of multi-colored lights.
 5. The vacuum appliance of claim 4, wherein the display comprises green illuminated lights to indicate the suction is normal.
 6. The vacuum appliance of claim 4, wherein the display comprises red illuminated lights to indicate the container is at its capacity.
 7. The vacuum appliance of claim 4, wherein the display comprises flashing red lights to indicate the motor is overheated.
 8. The vacuum appliance of claim 1, further including a brush coupled to the motor, the brush configured to agitate the debris when driven by the motor, thereby assisting the suction in entraining the debris in the airflow.
 9. The vacuum appliance of claim 8, wherein the vacuum appliance is an upright vacuum with the container positioned above the motor, the brush and nozzle mounted to a floor-engaging power head positioned ahead of the motor, and the display mounted to the floor-engaging power head.
 10. The vacuum appliance of claim 8, wherein the display is further configured to indicate status information relating to the brush.
 11. The vacuum appliance of claim 10, the display comprising a plurality of multi-colored sequencing lights.
 12. The vacuum appliance of claim 10, wherein the display comprises green sequencing lights to indicate the suction and brush are normal.
 13. The vacuum appliance of claim 10, wherein the display comprises red sequencing lights to indicate the container is at its capacity and the brush is normal.
 14. A vacuum appliance comprising: a motor within the vacuum appliance; an impeller coupled to the motor, the impeller configured to induce airflow through the vacuum appliance when driven by the motor, thereby creating suction at a nozzle of the vacuum appliance to entrain debris in the airflow; a brush configured to agitate the debris, thereby assisting the suction in entraining the debris in the airflow; a container configured to contain the debris entrained in the airflow; and a display configured to indicate status information relating to the motor, the suction, the brush, and the container.
 15. The vacuum appliance of claim 14, wherein the vacuum appliance is an upright vacuum with the brush and nozzle mounted to a floor-engaging power head, and the display mounted to the floor-engaging power head.
 16. The vacuum appliance of claim 14, the display comprising a plurality of multi-colored lights positioned in a round pattern and configured to selectively illuminate red and green, the lights further configured to selectively flash in unison or sequentially, wherein sequential flashing appears to infer rotation about the round pattern.
 17. The vacuum appliance of claim 16, wherein the display comprises green sequential flashing lights to indicate the suction and brush are normal.
 18. The vacuum appliance of claim 16, wherein the display comprises red sequential flashing lights to indicate a problem with the container and the brush is normal.
 19. The vacuum appliance of claim 16, wherein the display comprises red lights flashing in unison to indicate a problem with the brush.
 20. The vacuum appliance of claim 16, wherein the display comprises red lights flashing in unison to indicate a problem with the motor. 